Hold Me Closer
by DiagonAlii
Summary: Hannah Abbott is quiet, reserved, and subtly pretty. Justin Finch-Fletchley is handsome, witty, and, for lack of a better word, a player. They've been classmates for six years, but what will happen when a fun night out doesn't go exactly as planned?


**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Hogwarts, or any of the beautiful things involved with this story. Credit for those is given to the lovely Jo Rowling.**

Hannah Abbott was lying on the floor of the Hufflepuff Common Room, twirling her wavy blonde hair around her finger with one hand and tapping her quill on the floor with the other. This Potions essay was literally impossible. People always said sixth year was difficult, but she never actually believed them. She hadn't had a problem the past five years, so why was this year any different?

Boy, was she mistaken. She'd already received two "Acceptables" on papers, one in Transfiguration and one in Potions. Hannah Abbott never got "Acceptables". To make matters worse, a few days ago she'd gotten a "Poor" on a History of Magic exam. She wouldn't admit this to anyone, but she'd actually cried over it in bed that night.

She felt someone thud onto the ground next to her. She glanced over to find Justin Finch-Fletchley propped up against the wall, head back and eyes closed. "Can I help you?"

"Well, since you asked…" Justin started.

"Please don't finish that sentence," Hannah begged, knowing it would be something inappropriate.

"Oh, Hannah Banana, don't be such a downer," Justin said in a whiney voice. He leaned forward and flopped onto his stomach next to her. "I'm just having a little fun," he breathed in her ear.

Hannah sniffed the air. "Have you been drinking?" she asked.

Justin shrugged. "Maybe a little. Why, you want some?"

"Justin, it's a Tuesday night! We have a foot-long essay due tomorrow for Snape!"

"Already wrote it."

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "You did?"

Justin snorted. "Of course I didn't. God, Hannah, I thought we were friends."

Friends. If you could call it that. Justin and Hannah hung out in the same group of friends, which consisted of most of the other Sixth Year Hufflepuffs. However, the two of them had never been particularly close. They got alone fine; Justin was quite a funny kid, and although his joking attempts at seducing her were a little excessive, Hannah didn't mind. She liked him well enough.

"That's why I'm not all that surprised that you're drunk right now," she told him.

"You could be, too," Justin said quietly, grinning widely at her. "If you were to get smashed and try and snog me, I can't say I'd push you away."

Hannah sighed. "Again with the pick-up lines? Aren't you currently seeing someone?"

Justin stared at her, a quizzical look on his face.

"Mandy Brocklehurst?" Hannah pressed. "Pretty? Brunette? Ravenclaw? You were practically shagging her in the booth of The Three Broomsticks last weekend?" A majority of Hogwarts students, Hufflepuffs in particular, had recently taken to spending their weekends at The Three Broomsticks, mostly because they provided cheap drinks and no adult supervision. Justin usually had a different girl each weekend, but Hannah had seen him with Mandy on three different occasions recently, which was quite a big deal for him.

Justin shrugged. "I wouldn't consider it 'seeing'. I like to think of it as…hanging out with occasional benefits," he said lightly.

"Occasional?"

"Okay, frequent," Justin clarified. "Why, are you jealous?"

"Yup," Hannah answered plainly. "That's exactly it." Justin Finch-Fletchley was known to be the biggest man whore in all of Hogwarts. He hadn't had a real relationship with a girl since he dated Natalie Conoman, the gorgeous, red-haired Gryffindor Sixth Year that every guy wanted to shag, back in fourth year. It was the talk of the school when Anthony Goldstein, Natalie's best friend and now boyfriend, punched Justin in the face when Natalie found out that Justin had cheated on her. Justin wasn't too popular among the Gryffindors after that, let alone the rest of the school, because Natalie Conoman was probably one of the nicest people Hannah had ever met. Plus, it helped that she was a fantastic Chaser and rumored to be a possible recruit for the Tutshill Tornados, who were currently at the top of the league. The girl was literally flawless.

Justin eventually realized that he'd let a good one go, and resorted to sleeping around with girls from every House to resurrect his self esteem. There was a point in time when Hannah wished Justin would pursue her for real, since he was quite easy on the eyes and actually a nice person, but those feelings had long since washed away. Besides, she knew his pick-up lines toward her were all fun and games, and that in reality she didn't stand a chance with him. Boys at the school generally thought Hannah was pretty, but she wasn't one to put herself out there or ask for it.

"So have we established whether or not you're drinking tonight?" Justin asked suddenly.

Hannah sighed. "Justin, some of us actually care about our grades, and would prefer not to attend Professor Snape's class hung over tomorrow," she informed him. It wasn't that she was opposed to the act of drinking. In fact, she enjoyed going out with her friends on weekends or celebrating in the Common Room after a big win in a Quidditch match. Then again, the Hufflepuffs liked to party if they lost, too. They might not receive the respect they deserved around Hogwarts, but they sure knew how to throw parties. While all of this was fun, Hannah preferred not to join in some of her classmates' traditions of drinking every night of the week.

"Aw, come on, Hannah. You're being a downer again."

"Is anyone else actually drinking with you? Because I don't see anyone in this room acting like you," Hannah noticed.

"That's because they don't know how to party like I do," Justin told her. "Don't worry, all the guys are doing it, too."

"All the guys?" Hannah questioned. "Alright, if you can get Ernie drunk, maybe I'd consider." Ernie Macmillan, aside from being a pompous, arrogant, annoying specimen of a boy, was also strictly opposed to all drinking and partying. As Hannah's fellow Prefect, he tried to punish his classmates as often as possible, although not a single student actually took him seriously.

"Guess I'm out of luck, then," Justin replied.

"Guess you are."

"Hannah, will you do me a favor?"

"No, I won't write your paper for you," she replied knowingly.

"How do you know that's what I was going to ask?"

Hannah turned and glared at him.

Justin groaned. "Okay, fine, it was. But why won't you do it for me? You're the smartest Hufflepuff in the year, you'll have that done in twenty minutes."

"Not if you continue to sit here and talk to me," she said, trying to act as if she were concentrating on her empty parchment.

"So if I leave, you'll write my essay?"

"No."

"Hannah, has anyone told you you're sort of a bitch?"

"Yes," Hannah answered. "You have. Many times. Usually when you're drunk."

Justin nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So you're definitely not drinking?"

"For the last time, no."

Justin shrugged. "Your loss. Have fun writing your essay and being a complete bore all night."

"You won't be saying that in the morning when I have mine done and you don't," she said as Justin hopped up into a standing position.

"Don't you worry, Hannah Banana. I'll get it done." Justin winked, then spun around and stumbled away from the fireplace.

"Sure you will," Hannah muttered to herself. Despite how annoying Justin could be when he was drunk, she couldn't help but smile.

The next morning, Hannah was sitting in Potions, her neatly written essay in front of her, waiting for class to start. Suddenly, Justin pounded his way into the classroom, dragging his feet and squeezing his temples.

Hannah smirked at him as he made his way to his assigned seat, which was right beside her. "I don't want to talk about it," he said, not looking at her. Hannah simply chuckled.

Professor Snape glided into the room as usual, not greeting them or making them feel welcome in any way. "Papers," he said, and with a flick of his wand, pieces of parchment shot toward him from every corner of the room. He tapped the stack with his wand, which Hannah knew would create a list of names of those who had handed in papers.

"Mr. Finch-Fletchley," Snape drawled. He looked up and glared deviously at Justin. "Your essay?"

I, er…" Justin hesitated. "I don't have it," he finally admitted.

"Detention," Snape said in his usual monotone, uninterested voice.

Justin looked down at his desk in shame, and in the chair beside him, Hannah grinned, knowing she had won.


End file.
